Page 36 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
A swear burst from Zach. “Finn. Leave it. Something’s coming apart. That section of the floor is going to—”
“Get out. Now,” Finn ordered as his hand brushed fur. It was enough to allow him to hook a finger around a limb and haul the creature forward.
As he lifted the kitten in the air, a cloud of sawdust exploded in his face. The wall in front of him deconstructed like a mummy being hit with a cyclone wind. A loud crash echoed in his ears.
He fell.
Finn scrambled at the floorboards with his free hand, but the wooden slats pulled apart like toothpicks, flying from his grasp as he plummeted downwards. He hoped like hell Karen and the others had retreated down the stairs far enough—
He hoped his feet would touch first so he could roll with the momentum, but something swung into him from the side, pushing his legs to the right and propelling him into a solid object.
The space above him dropped, and he landed hard as something stabbed through his lower leg.
His teeth jammed together, trapping a shout inside even as his body screamed silently in protest.
Searing pain shot through his right leg, and something soft but extremely pokey jabbed his left hand. Finn pushed through the waves of pain radiating from his shin and sucked in a breath. Adrenaline rushed his system.
Clouds of dust were settling around him, and shouts sounded from a distance. Zach and Karen. Familiar voices that made him tense for a moment until he realized they were calling his name.
Good. They were safe.
He held it together long enough to lift his hand in front of his face to discover he held a snow-white kitten. The little thing had its claws sunk in deep, and it was quivering but not trying to escape.
He saw stars. Then nothing.
9
Karen finally knew what that phraseheart in your throatactually felt like.
It wasn’t something she’d been hoping to experience.
After they rushed down the stairs, the deafening noise that exploded behind them had ripped her apart in so many ways.
All she could picture was that second before escaping, where Finn had stared back at her, concern in his eyes as he ordered her to safety. Then everything had crumpled like a house of cards collapsing in on itself.
“Finn. Dammit, answer me,” Zach shouted, scrambling forward before the timbers had finished settling.
Karen caught the back of his collar with both hands, jerking him to a stop so he didn’t rush into danger. “Finn won’t thank you if you get hurt going after him. Wait.”
Although, she was quivering on the spot as well. Everything in her wanted to push past Zach that second and find out what had happened.
Thankfully, the crashing soon died down, and the instant the air quieted, both she and Zach were on the move, shouting Finn’s name. The air was full of dust, sunlight turning the motes into cloudy spotlights.
A muted groan sounded, and both she and Zach veered to the right. They stepped over fallen debris, moving toward the spot where a pile of timbers crisscrossed over Finn’s body.
Fear coated her tongue. She hurried as quickly as possible to his side.
“I called 9-1-1,” Lisa shouted from somewhere behind them. “And a bunch of the crew members are on their way over.”
Which was a good thing because Finn was buried under heavy beams, his tanned face shockingly pale in the shadowy corner where he lay.
Karen held her breath as she pressed her fingers to his neck. A second later she exhaled sharply. “He’s got a strong pulse. Hey, Finn. You’re going to be okay.”
He had to be okay. That was all there was to it.
“Dammit, Finn. What the hell were you thinking?” Zach shifted a piece of wood away then cursed. “Lisa. We need some help in here.”
The next timeframe passed in an eerie combination of slow-motion and high-speed chaos. Half a dozen guys were in the space, lifting things off Finn. A tiny kitten opened its mouth, its little pink tongue drawing Karen’s attention. She scooped it up from where it had nestled in the crook of Finn’s arm and settled it inside her outer shirt.
